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Old June 20, 2008, 06:30 PM   #1
LanceOregon
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More Details on Sutherlin, OR Home Invasion Shooting

OK, more details have emerged about this case. I hope this thread is not locked down too, as I will be glad to add more info as it develops and comes out.

It turns out that when the wife got up at 3 am and found the strange man on the couch, he was indeed past out. However, it now turns out that her husband was not home at that time. He had instead gone out for the night and was at a local bar a mile away. In fact, that was why the home's doors had been left unlocked by the wife that night, to make it easier for her husband to get back into their home when he was finished at the bar.

The wife immediately grabbed her young daughter, and fled the house. She called 911 on her cell phone as she left. She then proceeded to the bar where she knew her husband was at, and informed him of what was going on.

Despite the fact that the police had already been called and were on their way, the husband returned to his home to confront the intruder, armed with a deer rifle. Some new reports now claim that the man was conscious when the husband returned to confront him. However, police have confirmed that the intruder's dead body was found still lying on the couch.

Police arrived 7 minutes after the 911 call, but it was too late by then, as the shooting had already taken place.

So there are some key new factors to consider here. The family had gone a full mile away to the bar where the husband was at. They were completely removed from the situation at that point, and totally out of danger. But instead of waiting a couple of minutes for the police to handle things, the husband instead returned to his home to confront the man on his own.

And since the husband had been at the bar for many hours, he could very well have been highly intoxicated when this confrontation took place.

The husband has now retained a lawyer, who has advised him to not make any further statements of any kind.

Here is the new story with these updates:

http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20080620/NEWS/251560783

I doubt that this homeowner is going to become any kind of poster child for the right to defend one's home. It is looking like he definitely made some serious mistakes.


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Old June 20, 2008, 06:49 PM   #2
Bill Siegle
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Sounds like he really screwed the pooch for himself and his family. As I understand things you need to be in fear of death or bodily harm to justify pulling the trigger. Doesn't sound like he was in any danger till he went home for the confrontation. That being said, who knows, maybe a really good lawyer can get him out from underneath this
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Old June 20, 2008, 06:55 PM   #3
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I doubt that this homeowner is going to become any kind of poster child for the right to defend one's home. It is looking like he definitely made some serious mistakes.
Definitely not a poster child for gun rights...more like a poster child of a complete moron with serious aggression issues.

I hope he enjoys his jail time and I would love to hear more about the circumstances behind the story. I find it odd the family made it to the bar and he made it back to the house before police arrived on a home invasion in progress call.
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Old June 20, 2008, 08:23 PM   #4
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Well, the bar was only 1 mile from the house. So travel time would be quick. And the press reports say that the police arrived just moments after the shooting took place. And they claim that the response time was 7 minutes.

Is 7 minutes a reasonable response time? Douglas County is a rather poor county. And Sutherlin is quite a small rural town. They only have a total of 6 patrol officers in the entire police department.

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Old June 20, 2008, 08:29 PM   #5
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Seven minutes to get into a vehicle, travel a mile, enter a bar, explain the event to the husband, return to the home, and shoot the attacker is a very tight time frame.

Fred Meyers is about a mile from my house. I can't run up, grab a bottle of ketchup, and get back home in seven minutes.
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Old June 20, 2008, 10:09 PM   #6
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Suddenly, this supposed-to-be funny old thread (http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=241344) doesn't seem so funny anymore.

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Old June 20, 2008, 10:24 PM   #7
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Don't forget that blame also lies with the guy who went into the wrong house. Not trying to take sides here, but if you get so plastered that you can't remember where you live, it is a given that bad stuff is going to happen to you. It's like poking a bear in the *ss.

It could be as simple as being duct taped naked to a stop sign (I wasn't involved, heard it second hand.), to waking up 70 miles away in another town with no idea how you got there and no way to get back (Happened to a dumb co-worker.), to getting killed like this guy did.

I don't know, but I'm seeing 50/50 blame here.
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Old June 20, 2008, 11:22 PM   #8
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Don't forget that blame also lies with the guy who went into the wrong house. Not trying to take sides here, but if you get so plastered that you can't remember where you live, it is a given that bad stuff is going to happen to you. It's like poking a bear in the *ss.

It could be as simple as being duct taped naked to a stop sign (I wasn't involved, heard it second hand.), to waking up 70 miles away in another town with no idea how you got there and no way to get back (Happened to a dumb co-worker.), to getting killed like this guy did.

I don't know, but I'm seeing 50/50 blame here.
I would never call the blame 50/50. For all we know this guy just made a mistake and walked into the wrong house drunk. Hardly an offense worth getting killed over. When I lived in one of those generic apartment complexes in beaverton I walked into the wrong appartment once and made it all the way into the kitchen before realizing it...and I was sober.

If someone cuts me off in traffic and I chase them down and shoot them in the head we both did something wrong...but they were hardly equal offenses.
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Old June 21, 2008, 12:05 AM   #9
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I don't know why, but ever since the past year, there have been a lot of those break-ins in our state where the criminal is found sleeping on the couch or in a bed .
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Old June 21, 2008, 01:45 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Bob Lee Swagger
I don't know why, but ever since the past year, there have been a lot of those break-ins in our state where the criminal is found sleeping on the couch or in a bed
That's easy. Americans Sleepier Than Ever

Lance, please keep us apprised. I suspect he'll be doing time.
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Old June 21, 2008, 01:51 AM   #11
Bob Lee Swagger
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Either that, or these meth labs that suddenly sprung up out of nowhere.
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Old June 21, 2008, 05:02 AM   #12
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Our regional Cable News Channel did a report on this. But on both their TV news reports, and also on their website report of this incident, they put a great big photo of a GLOCK pistol in the story!!!

Now why on earth did they do that? Heck, the guy used a DEER RIFLE to kill the man, NOT a GLOCK!

Heck, some people may just glance at the story, and think that one of those evil black Glocks killed the man!

Here is what the story looked like:


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Old June 21, 2008, 08:36 AM   #13
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Heck, the guy used a DEER RIFLE to kill the man, NOT a GLOCK!
That's ridiculous. And it's in plain view in the story:



I think we should call 'em on it. I'm going to write them a letter. I'll post it here when I'm done.
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Old June 21, 2008, 09:01 AM   #14
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OK, done.

It'll be a snail mail letter so I can attach the photo. Let me know what you think.



Quote:
News Editor
KGW-TV
1501 SW Jefferson St.
Portland, OR 97201



Dear Sir or Madam:

I was browsing the internet when I came upon your website, which contained coverage of the June 19 shooting of a home intruder in Sutherlin, Oregon. Obviously, this was a tragic event from any perspective and I appreciated your coverage of it. I did, however, find an inconsistency or possible misrepresentation in your online report (because URLs may change, I have included a printout of the page). While the report very clearly indicates that said intruder was killed with a deer rifle, the weapon displayed in the image on the page is actually a Glock handgun.

I realize that news items are published in a short time period and that mistakes do occur. My concern, however, is that the image of the handgun was substituted to add more dramatic effect. Obviously, this would amount to sensationalism, and would constitute a departure from journalistic integrity. While I cannot be certain of whether the substitution was a mistake or intentional, I felt that it was my obligation to inform you of the inaccuracy.

I thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to your reply.

Respectfully,

theotherTexasRich (well, my real name)
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Old June 22, 2008, 01:16 AM   #15
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It'll be a snail mail letter so I can attach the photo. Let me know what you think.
Extremely well written. Great job.

As far as this case goes: No matter what events took place up to the point the homeowner confronted the "intruder" (including his idotic decision to re-enter the home after all other innocents had fled the home), the question remains was is it reasonable to pull the trigger on the guy at the moment he did it? If he shot a guy who was not attacking him or threatening him, then he's in the wrong in my opinion.
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Old June 22, 2008, 04:10 AM   #16
LanceOregon
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the question remains was is it reasonable to pull the trigger on the guy at the moment he did it? If he shot a guy who was not attacking him or threatening him, then he's in the wrong in my opinion.
Well, since the police have said NOTHING about recovering any other weapons, but have been quoted saying that the body was still lying on the couch when they found it, it is a rather hard to imagine what circumstances could possibly justify shooting.

If the guy simply woke up, that would certainly be no reason to shoot.

Perhaps it was an accidental discharge. Hunting rifles often have trigger pulls far lighter than a typical handgun.


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